“Hey, kid.”
Theo frowns. “Kruger?”
“Kruger is grabbing some supplies. He should be back any minute. This is Havoc,” I tell him, gently wrapping my hand around his wrist.
“Hey, Pres,” Theo whispers. Havoc looks at me, and I know in that moment that Havoc will do anything in his power to help us keep Theo, no matter what it takes.
He nods to me before moving closer to Theo. “How you feeling, kid?”
“Like a dumb fuck.”
I sigh. “Language.”
“You get a free pass when you’re in the hospital. It’s in the rules.”
“Oh, is that right?”
Havoc chuckles. “Kid might be on to something.” He sighs before pulling out a chair and sitting down beside him. “You up to telling me what happened?”
“Yeah,” Theo replies, sounding like he’d rather have a root canal than tell him. But he starts anyway when I give his wrist a supportive squeeze.
“I was on my way home from school when Josh pulled up beside me. He said Mom was in the hospital, and it was bad. If I wanted to say goodbye, now was the time to do it. God, I was so fucking stupid. I was so shocked, I got in the passenger seat. Before I could ask what happened, he hit me with something.When I woke up, I was on the kitchen floor in agony, and he was standing over me, kicking and shouting. I don’t even know what he said. I couldn’t focus. My eyes were already starting to swell shut, but I spotted my phone on the floor. When he ran out of steam, he went outside for a smoke. I grabbed the phone, crawled to the bedroom, and called Delphi. I thought he’d come back and finish me off, but then Delphi was there and I knew everything would be okay.” His voice shakes with both pain and emotion by the time he’s done.
“Hey, it’s alright, you’re safe here. You must be nuts if you think Havoc’s gonna let anyone within a mile of you.”
“It wasn’t me I was scared for. It was you. I didn’t think. I just needed you, but then I realized I was dragging you into danger?—”
“You don’t worry about that shit, Theo, you hear me? It’s my job to protect you, not the other way around.”
“Language.”
I roll my eyes as Havoc grins. “Smart ass.”
We’re all quiet for a minute before Theo speaks again, this time his voice little more than a whisper. “Havoc?”
“Right here, kid.”
“She dead?”
I tense, glad Theo can’t see the anguish in my eyes. I might loathe the woman with the fire of a thousand suns, but it’s still his mom.
“Last I heard, she was still alive. The prospects went to find her to tell her about you and found her. She’d OD’d. Con called it in. She’s on her way here as we speak.”
“Okay.”
“Theo—” I start, but he shakes his head.
“Don’t. I know you’re going to make excuses for her, but don’t bother. She OD’d six times already. I know because I’m usually the one to find her. She never listens, Delphi. She neverlearns, and you know why? Because she doesn’t care. Not about her home, her kid, or herself.”
He lifts his free hand and swipes a tear from his face. “And I can’t keep doing this. I can’t be the only one who cares what happens anymore. It’s exhausting.”
“Then let go and let us catch you,” Havoc tells him. Straight up, no bullshit about giving it time for the dust to settle, or you only get one mom speech. Just let go, be a kid, and let the adults deal with the adult shit.
And just like that, I welcome Raven Souls back into my heart.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
KRUGER
